by Dixon, Ruby
I want to kiss her beautiful face as I claim her, but she's smaller than I am, and that would mean stopping and re-aligning our bodies. I don't think I could pause even if I wanted to. She feels too good and I'm far, far too close. "Come for me," I demand. "I want to feel this pretty little cunt tighten around me. I want to know that I made you feel so keffing good, Jade. That every time you quake, it's because no one's ever made you feel like this. That I'm claiming all of you. That you're mine in every way possible. Tell me that," I growl. "Say it."
Jade's utterly lost to the pleasure, though. I feel her channel ripple around my cock, tightening as she arches her back. Her face contorts, and her legs jerk even as I pound into her. "Ad," she moans between thrusts. "Ad, Ad, Ad—"
"Close enough," I mutter, and run my finger on the opposite side of her clit again. "My Jade. My gorgeous female. You've got the juiciest keffing cunt I've ever sank into. Wanna push my whole face into it and just let you grind down on my mouth—"
She cries out. I don't know if it's my words, or that I'm taking her relentlessly, the entire bed bouncing with the force of my thrusts, but she comes. I can feel Jade's release as her body tightens under me, her cunt gripping me like a tight fist, and I lose my words. I can't think of a single thing to say, just that I need to claim this clenching, perfect body and fill it with my seed. I grip her thigh, press forward, and pound into her, growling as I do. I'm lost to everything but the sheer pleasure of being so deep inside this female.
My female.
When I come, stars spark at the edges of my vision, and it feels as if my entire body is releasing into her. I've never come so hard in my life, and still I keep driving into her, loving the sensation of her cunt dripping with my seed, our bodies sticky together. When I can't move any longer, I hunch over her, cradling her under me, and try to catch my breath. Her fluffy, frizzy nimbus of hair tickles my face and I feel Jade press kisses onto my chest, making my cock twitch.
Mine. Mine forever.
49
JADE
Adiron is an absolute bed hog.
This comes as no surprise to me. If I've ever met someone who takes full advantage of the space given them, it's Adiron. He unapologetically hogs the covers, sprawls his limbs over every inch of surface, and basically takes all the room. I'm left scrunched up against the wall, no blankets, and I wake up early because my ass is cold and my neck aches from my contorted sleeping position. Next to me, Adiron snores. His head is tilted back, which doesn't look all that comfortable given his horns, but he's happily sleeping.
I don't know if I'm amused or irritated, and then I decide I can be both. I watch him sleep for a while, and then when the need to pee gets too urgent, I begin the process of slowly creeping out of bed while somehow not waking him up.
Doesn't work, of course. Adiron smacks his lips, turns on his side, and tucks me against his chest. "You can't sneak away," he mumbles into my hair as he presses my naked body to him. "S'not allowed."
"I have to go to the lavatory."
"Also not allowed," he murmurs, eyes closed. He gets quiet and I'm pretty sure he's drifting back off to sleep.
So I pinch his belly. Or try to. There's nothing there but muscle, so I move to his hip, and then his ass. It's all rock hard. "Well, this is unfair," I mutter, trying his belly again. Even around his navel, there's not enough to pinch. He's all washboard abs.
"Mmm, your hands are nice," he breathes into my hair. "Go lower."
"You want me to pinch your cock?"
"Is that what you're doing? I thought you were getting frisky." His hand strokes over the curve of my ass and tries to slide between my thighs. "I'll wake up for that."
Chuckling, I wiggle out of his grip and slide out of bed. He makes a disappointed sound, his tail clinging to me until I get too far away. It's silly, but I love that he's so grabby and affectionate. It proves that last night wasn't a bored fluke. That he likes me in daylight as much as he likes me late at night. That I'm not just a deep-space booty call if he wants seconds.
I take a quick shower while I'm in the bathroom, freshening up. Muscles that I didn't know I had are sore this morning, which leaves me blushing. Between the piercing on his cock that rubbed me inside in just the right spot and the spur that rubbed me on the outside in just the right spot? I've never come so hard. It makes me want to crawl back into bed with him and fool around all day long.
After all, I'm being responsible by being here with the sleepers, right? No one says I have to be a total martyr. I can have some fun.
I step out of the shower, intent on having that fun, but to my disappointment, the bed is empty. Across the hall, I can hear Adiron's personal shower going. Just as well. He wouldn't have been able to squeeze into mine with me. I'm a little sad he wasn't waiting in bed, but I suppose it's for the best.
I dress and go out to make breakfast. I prepare an extra-big batch of noodles, because I suspect Adiron is going to be hungry, and eat a few bites while I wait for him to turn up. When he doesn't, I put the food back in the warmer and go looking for him.
I find him down another one of the side halls, a large piece of the molded metal wall tossed onto the floor. He's on hands and knees, his front half hidden inside the wall itself. I watch as his tail flicks, and then he cusses. "Everything okay?" I ask, a little worried. He said last night we were fine, but what if he lied just to make me feel better?
Adiron emerges, his hair wet and messy between his horns. He grins up at me, all boyish enthusiasm. "I had an idea while I was in the shower."
"About what?"
"Well," he says, turning to sit on his ass. He puts aside the circuit board thing he's holding and indicates I should come closer. I do, and he immediately nuzzles between my thighs, big hands rubbing my ass. "First I thought about grabbing you and licking your cunt again."
I squeak, holding onto his horns for balance. "Adiron!"
"Right. I know what you're thinking, focus." He presses a kiss to the fabric over my pussy, gives a little sigh, and then turns back to the panel. "Then I was thinking, keeping this whole ship powered up and cycling all the air and water is a big drain on resources. What if we locked down most of it and kept just one hall—or even one or two rooms—with life support and full power? We could potentially keep this old girl running for months longer."
"Will that matter if we end up being sucked into the ice field?"
"One problem at a time," he says with a grin. "Maybe if we have enough time, we can overwrite some of the programs that keep us locked out and figure out how to turn on part of the engines."
I blink in surprise. "You're just full of ideas this morning, aren't you?"
"I slept great," he admits, hugging my hips and beaming up at me. "Do you know how long it's been since I slept? Really slept?"
I play with his damp hair, smoothing it back from his face. "Judging by your excitement, I'd say a while?"
"Years," he agrees. "But I figured out the cure for insomnia." He looks up at me and winks. "It's between your thighs."
I bite back a laugh. He did warn me that he had a bit of a one-track mind. "I made you breakfast. It's not between my thighs, but maybe you'll want to eat it anyhow."
"You made food for me?" Adiron looks absurdly pleased. He lets go of me and jumps to his feet.
"Well, sure. You take care of me, I'll take care of you. It's not that hard."
Adiron pulls himself up to his full height and immediately crushes me against him, my face pressed to his pectorals. His tail tickles at my backside. "And did I take care of you? Last night?"
"Are you fishing for compliments?"
"Absolutely."
I arch an eyebrow at him. "I think you know the answer to that, considering I was crying out your name."
"You were, weren't you?" He gets a dreamy look on his face. "Good times. Good times."
I snort and pry my way out of his grip. I take his tail in hand and tug on it. "Come on. Let's go eat so you can get back to whatever mad science you'r
e doing here."
He makes a short, coughing sound and covers my hand. "You, uh, don't want to pull on my tail like that unless you want to head back to bed."
I drop the thing as if it's on fire and then burst into giggles at the odd look on Adiron's face. "Noted."
Instead of hurrying to the mess hall, though, he takes my hand in his and rubs his thumb across the back of it, his expression changing to something more thoughtful. "I should have asked you, maybe, before I got started with all this stuff. Are you okay with re-wiring a few things on this ship to make sure we stay powered up? I don't want a repeat of last night."
"I don't either," I tell him softly. It's sweet that he's so determined to make everything work just right for me. Well, not JUST for me. I'm sure he likes to breathe, too. Except I know that if it was up to him, he would have left this ship behind already. He'd have climbed into an escape pod and followed his brothers out into space. It's because I won't leave that he's here with me. "And you're welcome to do whatever you like to the ship as long as it doesn't endanger anyone on board."
"What about the ship's passenger?" he asks in a playful voice. "Can I do whatever I like to her, too?"
I eye him as he lifts a finger to the fastener of my ill-fitting jumpsuit. "Is all you think about sex?"
"It's absolutely on the top five list."
"And let me guess, you just won't say where on the list?" I tease back.
Adiron laughs.
50
ADIRON
The power fizzles again a short time after we eat. It comes on again in a heartbeat, with a low, ominous pop.
Jade blinks up at the ceiling. "Well, that's not good."
"It's fine," I lie. "I'll take a look at things after this." I point at her bowl. "You going to eat all that?"
She clutches her bowl and holds it against her chest, which is the cutest thing ever. It puts me in a good mood, even when we head out together to the maintenance rooms, where the computer's hardware is located. I get to work…and try not to show my concerns.
The more I dig into the ship's hardware, the more I'm shocked the damn thing's still running at all.
This is not good. Not good at all.
The ship we had before the Little Sister was an older model. We used to joke that the Vanora was held together by spit, crusted-on axel grease, and determination. She also died while in the middle of a very tricky piracy run and nearly cost Kaspar his head. We ended up letting the Vanora rot at a station impound and traded away our savings for the Little Sister, instead.
Looking at the controls for the Buoyant Star, I see things that remind me of those days, of tapping panels in the hopes that it would turn on a broken component, of constantly switching out chips to see if this one would cause the system to magically light up. Of midnight surges in power only for it to fail when most needed. We laughed about those days, but when push came to shove, the Vanora was a disaster and we dumped her.
We don't have that choice with the Buoyant Star. Jade won't leave the sleepers behind and I absolutely won't leave her. So I need to make this hunk of junk work.
I whistle cheerfully as I pry a wire out of a gunk-covered socket and glance over at Jade. I have her cleaning filters with a damp towel, removing loose particles and judging the state of them. Even from here, I can tell they've more than reached the end of their life. They smell moldy and the white filters are a stark gray, but they're what we've got. Luckily Jade hasn't noticed my apprehension. I keep whistling, and all the while, I'm trying to think of answers.
I lied to her when I said the ship was fine. The more I try to do routine maintenance, the more I'm convinced that this old gal is only still operating out of sheer luck. Luck can sometimes work in your favor—the Star might drift on as she is for another year or two, or she might shit the bed tomorrow. There's no way of knowing, but I don't like those odds.
So I made up some bullshit lie about how we're going to shut it all down except for a room or two. That we're saving power. Truth is, I'm going to salvage decent parts from what I can, and I doubt we have more than enough to keep only a room or two going. But what Jade doesn't know won't hurt her, so I keep on whistling a cheerful tune.
We can last a month, I tell myself. We'll pull a few wires from here and there, ensure that the life support systems are running in top shape for at least one part of the ship, and we wait out Kaspar and Mathiras's return. Heck, they might even be back sooner. Luckier things have happened.
We work on through the morning in companionable quiet. Jade occasionally asks me a question, but for the most part, I'm left alone with my own thoughts, which is always dangerous. I'm pretty sure she's thinking about last night—also known as the greatest night of my life—but I worry that she's quiet because she has regrets.
Then, the wire I'm working on pulling out snaps in half, and I have new regrets. "Uh oh."
Jade's immediately at my side. "What's uh oh? What's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
I put a few wires back into place, return the circuit board I'm working on, and get to my feet. The moment I do, Jade is right there, frowning up at me, the dusty rag in her hand. "Do not lie to me, mister. I can read you like a damn book and something's wrong."
"It's not EXTREMELY wrong," I hedge. "Just inconvenient. There was a wire I needed and it snapped." I don't point out that the wire is one that's pretty crucial for the temperature control of the ship. "But there's more of them to be found on the ship. No big deal." I pause, then wonder if there's any way to slide this in all casual like, then decide, kef it. "Quick question—which of the people in the pods do you like the least?"
She stares at me like I'm insane. "What do you mean, which people do I like the least?"
I hold up the broken wire. "There's bunches of these on the stasis pods. So if I cannibalize a few of them, we'll be good. Just point out which people look the least like they need to be saved, and I'll get to work."
"You are not doing that," she hisses at me.
"You're right. I can't get in that room." I hold the wire out to her. "Can you get them for me?"
"No, Adiron!" She smacks my chest, all indignant, and I have to admit, she looks sexy when she's angry. When she moves, her breasts jiggle, and I think about how they bounced last night when I was deep inside her…and now I want to have sex again. "We are not sabotaging other people's chances of survival to ensure our own."
"Sometimes you have to put yourself first." Jade's not going to last very long as a corsair if she doesn't.
"I thought you said this was an optional change? I don't want to do it."
"That's the thing…it might not be so optional. Some of these components are worse than I thought." I give her a bright smile to take the sting out of my words. "The good news is that if we get a few more of the conduction wires, we should have enough heat to power our quarters until the rescue arrives." I hold the wires up again. "We just have to get them."
She looks at me as if I've grown another head. "And you'd just steal them from helpless, sleeping people?"
"Well, no. I would look for helpless, sleeping criminals. Or Threshians. Those I wouldn't feel too bad stealing from. Were there any that weren't human?"
Jade crosses her arms under that magnificent chest of hers, a mutinous look on her face. "You mean like Helen?"
Mmm, good point. "Obviously I wouldn't take out a qura'aki. I'm not THAT dumb."
"First of all," Jade says in a tone that brooks no argument. "You are not dumb. And second of all, we are not slaughtering people just to suit our own needs." She lifts her chin, indicating the broken wiring in my hand. "That isn't available anywhere else?"
She's magnificent when she's angry, and I love the sight of it. I want to bask in her fury and worship at her feet—or between her thighs—but I can tell she doesn't want to hear that right now. So I do my best to answer. "Well, there are lots of these wires. It's just that most of them are broken or look like they're about to fry. This ship's on an older sort of engin
e, and it tends to require a lot of maintenance, which hasn't been done in years. I'm afraid that these power fluctuations are going to keep happening, and if they go down again, I'm concerned that they're going to take a critical system with them that we need. We're better off holing up in a room or two where we know everything's working efficiently versus running the entire ship half-ass and hoping for the best."
Jade considers this. She studies me. "Do you think it's serious enough that we need to take action like that?"
I sigh. "I was hoping that wasn't the case, but I've looked at twenty-one of these wires today." I hold the one in my hand up again. "Thirteen are only working because a component melted around them. Four are on the verge of breaking. We need a full seven to run the climate control panel."
Her jaw clenches. She looks up at me, and then back at the wire I'm holding. "Are you lying to me?"
"I really wanted to, but then I thought you'd never have sex with me again, and I'd really really like that to happen again." I give her my most charming smile.
Her mouth twitches and I know I'm winning her over. "We're not killing anyone," she says softly. "I'm not doing that. Can't we just cannibalize the pods we came in? Those of us that were woken up?"
I look at her in surprise. "They're still here on the ship?"
She nods.
"Yeah, we can do that." When a relieved smile crosses her face, I press my luck. "And then we can have sex again? It's been hours since I licked that glorious cunt of yours and I'd sure like to refresh my memory."
"Is this what I have to look forward to for the next month?" she asks in an amused tone, even as her hand goes to my belt.
"Honestly? Yeah."
Jade just laughs, and I'm glad she doesn't hate me. Also glad because I'm pretty sure laughter means I will absolutely get to feast on that glorious cunt of hers after all.
51